Obsessed by Joseph Badal

A world-class thriller with non-stop, heart-pounding tension and action, OBSESSED brings back Matt Curtis and Renee Drummond and their villainous nemesis, Lonnie Jackson. This second installment in Joseph Badal’s The Curtis Chronicles takes the reader from Rio de Janeiro to the mountains of New Mexico to the Mexico/United States border, following a crazed Jackson on his single-minded quest for revenge against the two people he blames for the deaths of his mother and brother and for the destruction of his criminal empire in Hawaii.

OBSESSED is another master stroke of fiction from this Amazon #1 Best-Selling Author, two-time winner of the Tony Hillerman Award for Best Fiction Book of the Year, and three-time Military Writers Society of America Gold Medal Winner.

The Big Thrill caught up with Badal just in time to discuss his latest thriller:

What do you hope readers will take away from this book?

As with all of my novels, the underlying themes in OBSESSED are the battle between good and evil and the potential that an everyday person has of being an everyday hero. I want the reader to be able to relate to my characters and to realize that, when confronted with a flight or fight situation, they will always do the right thing.

Was there anything new you discovered, or that surprised you, as you wrote this book?

OBSESSED is the second book in the series “Cycle of Violence.” The antagonist is a powerful character who plays a major role in all of the books in the series. He is an organized crime figure who, among other criminal activities, is involved in human trafficking. From the research I did on trafficking, I was shocked to learn about the extent of human trafficking in the United States and globally.

No spoilers, but what can you tell us about your book that we won’t find in the jacket copy or the PR material?

OBSESSED is an adventure thriller that is built around certain basic human emotions. The relationship between the antagonist and the protagonists is based on fundamental hatred. At the same time, there are powerful friendships and romantic relationships that form the foundation for how the good guys deal with the bad guys.

*****

Prior to a long finance career, including a 16-year stint as a senior executive and board member of an NYSE-listed company, Joseph Badal served for six years as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army in critical, highly classified positions in the U.S. and overseas, including tours of duty in Greece and Vietnam, and earned numerous military decorations.

He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in business from Temple University and The University of New Mexico, and graduated from the Defense Language Institute, West Coast and from Stanford University Law School’s Director College.

He is the author of thirteen published suspense novels and a two-time winner of the Tony Hillerman Prize for Best Fiction Book of the Year (Ultimate Betrayal in 2014 and The Motive in 2016). He earned “Finalist” recognition for The Motive and Borderline in 2017 from the International Book Awards. The Military Writers Society of America awarded Joe two Gold Medals in 2017 for The Nostradamus Secret and The Lone Wolf Agenda, its Gold Medal in 2016 for Death Ship, its Silver Medal in 2016 for Terror Cell, and its Silver Medal in 2015 for Evil Deeds. His The Lone Wolf Agenda was named the top Mystery/Thriller novel in the 2013 New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards competition.

Joe also writes a blog titled Everyday Heroes, and has written short stories published in the Uncommon Assassins, Someone Wicked, and Insidious Assassins anthologies. In addition to authoring novels and short stories, Joe has written dozens of articles that have been published in various business and trade journals and is a frequent speaker at business, civic, and writers’ events.

To learn more about Joe and his work, please visit his website.